In this assignment we will look at a few examples of the tradition of ballads as vehicles of social protest. As usual, I tried to chose examples that will be unfamiliar to you. There are literally hundreds of these, so the choice was difficult. I tried to choose songs that ran the gamut of emotions and that were nuanced as regards the protest "message."
This is a song of the 18th Century European Wars with Versions popular during the Revolutionary War and the Civil war.
The song is known as "Johnny's Gone For a Soldier" in the new world. This is an Irish version sung partly in gaelic by Mary Black (scroll down to listen to an American version)
This song referring to the naval wars of the 19th century is done by a band (The Del McCoury Band) from a land-locked state with no King and no shillings.
And for good measure because I just could not let this issue go... Louis Armstrong performs "What Did I do? (To Be So Black and Blue)" a song by Fats Waller
This is a song of the 18th Century European Wars with Versions popular during the Revolutionary War and the Civil war.
This song referring to the naval wars of the 19th century is done by a band (The Del McCoury Band) from a land-locked state with no King and no shillings.
This is a song from the Great Depression sung by Bing Crosby
This is a contemporary rock song that refers to the century of strife dating to 1916 in Ireland. The band is Cranberries
From the aftermath of World War II, a song by Johnny Cash about the war hero, Ira Hayes
- performed by Drive By Truckers
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Extra Songs
And from aftermath of the 2008 Financial Meltdown:
Performed by James McMurtry and the Heartless Bastards
And for good measure because I just could not let this issue go...
Louis Armstrong performs "What Did I do? (To Be So Black and Blue)" a song by Fats Waller
An American Version of Suil a Ruin - "Johnny Has Gone for A Soldier"